Obama’s Health-Care Summit – Gimmick or Negotiation?

On February 25th, the White House has proposed a bipartisan, half-day televised summit on health care. It is unclear as to whether this is a publicity stunt by the Obama Administration or a good faith effort to negotiate with Republicans to come up with a bipartisan health care reform bill. The Washington Post reports today many Republicans are pushing back and urging the White House to scrap Obamacare as a precondition to any negotiation. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel objecting to the House and Senate versions of Obamacare being the base line bills of the negotiations. Hopefully, this summit meeting is more than the President checking off a campaign promise to have all health care negotiations on C-SPAN.

If this summit is a genuine start to bipartisan negotiations, then a few issues need to be settled before the meeting:

1. Start Over – The American people have rejected Obamacare and they want Congress and the Obama Administration to start over from scratch. The election of Scott Brown as Senator from Massachusetts was a strong message, from a liberal state, that Obamacare is not popular with the American people. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll indicates that 31% think the President’s health care plan is a good idea v. 46% a bad idea. CNN/Opinion Research has the numbers at 38% in favor and 58% opposed. It is clear that a minority in Congress is representing the will of a majority of Americans who think Obamacare is a bad idea and it is time for liberals in Congress and the Obama Administration to start listening to the American people. With the overwhelming weight of polling data and election results in Massachusetts indicating widespread opposition, it is time to start over.

2. Take Reconciliation off the Table – The President needs to state publicly that he will not support partisan efforts in Congress to use reconciliation procedures as a mechanism to railroad through pending versions of Obamacare. Reconciliation, commonly referred to as the Nuclear Option in the Senate, allows the supporters of Obamacare to avoid a filibuster in the Senate and ignore the traditional rules that would allow extended debate and amendment. Using reconciliation and relying on one party’s votes to pass an unpopular approach to health care reform would not translate into a bipartisan solution to comprehensive health care reform.

3. Transparency – Transparency has to be any part of a summit and it does not begin and end with the publicly broadcast meeting. First, what may be necessary is for the Obama Administration, Republican Leaders, Democrat Leaders and Moderate Democrats have a private meeting, before any planned public summit to clear the air. There is nothing wrong with having a private meeting to provide an opportunity for members to speak freely and build some needed trust. Right now, there is no trust and there has been a complete breakdown in communication. Maybe they could sit and discuss the core elements of a true bipartisan plan in private, and then have a public summit to air any agreement over a half day. A meeting and summit does not mitigate the need for public hearings in Congress and other means to transparently consider any new elements of a health care bill. The White House had been actively engaged in closed door negotiations as recently as the first week of this year with lobbyists and congressional leaders in a manner that excluded moderate Democrats, Republicans and the American people. This needs to end. It is reasonable for members of Congress to have informal negotiations at times, yet the work product should be subject to transparent hearings in the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction. Any deal should be vetted with the American people and subject to a transparent process.

The great danger in this process is that the Obama Administration checks off a campaign promise then goes on with business as usual. This summit can’t merely be a gimmick where the President lectures Republicans and Republicans lecture the President, then the President forges forward with the same Obamacare bill that has been rejected by the American people. This summit should be where the President starts the process over and engages in real negotiations with a broad audience.

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This is a total Gimmick on the part of the administration. Based on what he said today at the press conference Obama has no plan to start from scratch. He just wants to try to lure the Republican's into becoming part of his existing unpopular bills. Repubs please for the sake of our country just say "No." you will be rewarded for siding on the side of the american people come November. Saying NO is actually more popular today then giving in to this administration's political whims.

Obama is running scared, he is scrambling to take any wind he can out of the sails of the Republicans and the conservative movement sweeping our land. Obama knows that if he can put on a show for the American public many will buy into his notion that he is fulfilling his campaign promises. In reality, all this televised debate would be is an opportunity for Obama to rail against the Republicans, talking down to them as he is known to do, thenthe shook up Republicans will fall all over themselves trying to defend themselves rather than say anything substantive. We the People need to scream loud enough to put a stop to this madness. I have some ideas on how to move forward, let me know what you think: http://teaparty.yepperee.com

President should never take reconciliation off the table. The Democrats have to stop running with tail between their legs because of one seat out of 535 in Congress. It's pathetic how spinelsss some of them are acting. This is a majority rule Congress.All it takes is 51 votes to pass reconciliation. Dems should use it and pass what majority of Americans voted them in to pass.

The idea of wanting to start from scratch is absurd. The process has gone on for a year, gone through 5 committees and have had hundreds of republican amendments in the bill. If you want to make changes, then offer those changes as amendments, but anyone who states they want to start over is just plainly against health care reform.

They sadly would rather take a political victory for theri party and private insurers by killing the bill than they would rather see a victory for the American people.

I think it's interesting so many Republicans are against a bill that the AMA supports, the Surgeons support, AARP supports but the bill is opposed by PHaRma and the private insurers. It's pretty easy to tell where allegiances lie…and the situation will just keep getting worse and worse until it's too late.

what doesn't this president understand about the american people whom put him in office we say no and we mean no obamacare no obama crap and trap and he needs to tell the e.p.a. to stay out of our lives the epa is just angry because we caught them trying to tell lies to us americans the truth will set us free and lies wil enslave those whom tell them god is with the american people and not for the government we always have victory over evilness

Sorry, starting over isn't being against "healthcare reform", it's the only logical thing to do. To take a bill that the American people do not want and then try to backdoor some republican support is nonsense.

This is a giant gimmick and hopefully the involved republicans will see right through this.

Obama's the pitch man for a leftist health agenda. His is a national socialist product he'll continue to push on individuals, businesses and independent states. He's like a pesky door salesman who won't give-up once he's got his foot in the door. He'll keep pitching to keep congress talking until the left leaning aisle eventually gets what it wants. All at the demise of Americans. Time to end the Democrat's majority hold this November followed by slamming the door on Obama's smooth talk in 2012.

He is the biggest con artist on the street right now. He is working on ulterior motives and will do anything to get there. He will, in no way, reach out to the opposition. He is running a scam and the opposition needs to be wary about it. You can believe nothing he says. He has been caught in too many lies already. We must not bend to his unethical ways of doing business.

MDs and the AMA who support this Government take over should stand up and explain why there are so many DR's who refuse to take Medicare Patients. Go to the Portland Oregon area and try to find Dr's that take patients who have only medicare. They even refuse patients who have both Medicare and military Tricareforlife.

There are only a small percentage of physicians that actually belong to the AMA. membership is not manditory and as they don't agree with their politics, a large percentage don't join. This is also true of nurses and the nursing society membership. The Mayo Clinic just last week stated that starting at the beginning of next year they would not take any more medicare patients as the government didn't even pay the costs associated with these patients let alone the overhead!!! do you think it will be better when the government runs the health care for ALL patients??

Let's see….Medicare (a government run program) is in the toilet. Social Security (a government run program) is in the toilet. And this group wants to take over our healthcare??? (which will be in the toilet as soon as any bill might be signed) And, Obama wants to put on this show (gimmick!) to try to embarrass any dissention in order to get what he wants??!!

My unalienable rights are LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. This OBAMACARE crap will take away quality health care (Life); take away the freedom to choose my own health plan and get the care I need and the care recommended by medical professionals who I trust (Liberty) and will cause us to live an increasingly more mediocre existence under on oppressive government (Pursuit of Happiness).

I think we should also fill the gallery and surround the building while these televised proceedings are going on. Don't let him or his minions EVER forget that what they do isn't about THEM or their POLITICAL CAREERS – but, it is about US and our very LIVES.

THE REASON OBAMA IS HAVING THIS SUMMIT IS TO SAY…"SEE THE REPUBS ARE JUST GONNA SAY NO TO EVERYTHING" ….. AND THUS WILL BE HIS EXCUSE TO USE RECONCILIATION…. It's just another Chicago sleezy political ploy to blame repubs and get his Socialist/ facist agenda through against the will of the people he is to serve and protect. Obama, we are not as dumb as you think!

How true you are! I've taken your comment and added it to my FB notes. You, in so few words, have spoken eloquently for all of America.

So few Americans understand the rights and privileges the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution provide them! Your words need to be posted on everyone's wall, to educate as many people as possible.

And let's not forget, come November, we can deal the OBUMMERITEs a blow, by voting for America when we go to the polls!

If the Republicans do go, which they almost have to, I believe they need to be prepared to walk out when it becomes obvious that Summit was not called to begin an honest debate and work toward responsible solutions to the many pieces of the Health Care debate. This debate must be done in pieces:cost….availability…torte reform….pre-existing conditions…State vs. Federal roles, etc.

Kevin Habib… You obviously don't understand the three arms of our government. President Obama wasn't elected to rule over the Congress and the Supreme Court, and all the citizens. Obama was elected by about 53% of the voters, mostly in metropolitan areas, but his duty is to represent all the citizens, not just those who voted for him. That means the States who did not support him, still have a president that will listen to their concerns and weigh them as he exercises his duties. This is where he has failed, because he doesn't understand that in better than you.

Our voice means nothing to the dems and obama, pelosi and reid refuse to hear the cry of the "common" person, the working person means nothing to them. When will we stop this mad dash for power and controll???

Are you people serious? How about when the event actually happens you can make the call whether or not "IT'S A TRAP!" Turn off fox news and make your own opinions. Watch the summit. Listen to the proposal, THEN say yes or no.

Emma is right. You guys have been brainwashed by Fox News worse the German people were in WWII.

There is debate over a Health Care Bill. There seems to be confusion over exactly whats in it and WHY. The president being the first real non-political jackass to sit in office in decades offers to bring the debate before the american people so they can understand what they are even voting for and why.

Republicans being politicians respond to a senssibel "lets discuss it" meeting with

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